An endoscope is widely used to examine and care for portions of a human's body such as the duodenum, rectum, large intestine, oesophagus, ears, nose, and bladder.
An apparatus for transmitting liquid and gas through an endoscope is used to remove material attached to an observation optical system disposed at an end tip of the endoscope during the operation thereof.
Namely, when material is attached to the observation optical system during operation of the endoscope, the visual field of the endoscope is prevented so that it is necessary to remove the waste from the observation optical system by supplying liquid from a liquid transmitting path of the endoscope to a liquid transmitting nozzle disposed at an end thereof and ejecting the liquid on the observation optical system and, thereafter, supplying gas from a gas transmitting path to a gas transmitting nozzle disposed at the end of the endoscope.
The cleaning operation is indispensable and often performed in the general examination and medical care of the endoscope.
Conventionally, it is often necessary for an operator to operate liquid and gas transmitting buttons disposed in an operating portion of the endoscope during the operation thereof so as to clean the observation optical system disposed at the end of the endoscope. Accordingly, such a clearing operation is laborious for the operator, and it is desirable to simplify the cleaning operation.
In the cleaning operation by the conventional endoscope, it is necessary to (1) turn on a liquid transmitting button, (2) turn off the liquid transmitting button, (3) turn on a gas transmitting button (3), and turn off the gas transmitting button. Otherwise, it is necessary to (1) turn on the liquid and gas transmitting buttons to transmit the liquid, (2) turn on/off the liquid and gas transmitting buttons, (3) transmit the gas by closing an air leak hole on the liquid and gas transmitting buttons by a finger, and (4) turn off the liquid and gas transmitting buttons. Such sequential operations are complicated and make the operator troublesome.